I don't think that I would ever, while writing, think to myself, "I need a little more psychological realism."

It is not a camera, or a reporter that makes something real and genuine; more often a camera or a reporter does the opposite.

I was 16 years old, attending boarding school, and I loved Pride and Prejudice. From the opening pages, I loved it. And I will say in my class, not one but two boys told me that I reminded them of Lizzy Bennet. I didn't realize it at the time but this was the nicest thing that any male would ever say to me. This was as good as it got.

Of course, I didn't imagine then that I could have had a real relationship with any guy. I thought that by virtue of being me I was disqualified.

I don't think it's shameful to admit that some days your time can be better spent reading than writing.

The best part of being a writer for me is immersing myself in a fictional world, which is the opposite of being on social media. At the same time, if no one ever read my work, if I was writing solely for myself, I bet it would be lonely and a lot less fun.

I have this theory that the likeability question comes up so much more with female characters created by female authors than it does with male characters and male authors